Hundred-word (Power Pop) Reviews, November 2024

For this round of Hundred Word Reviews, it’s a veritable feast – a panoply, a cornucopia… a surfeit, even – of power pop.

Valley Lodge – Shadows in Paradise
New York City power pop bands tend toward the grittier end of the spectrum, with a street-level sensibility that nicely scuffs up what is too often a glossy sheen. And Valley Lodge fits neatly into that characterization. Strong hooks are joined by a powerful oomph, some tight vocal harmonies (that occasionally recall Kiss, of all things, but in a good way). The band is a trio, but on this record they’re joined by a half-dozen friends helping out on guitar, keys, vocals and whatnot. “Hanging Around” is shamelessly derivative of the Cure, but hey: if yer gonna steal, well, y’know.

Aerial – Activities of Daily Living
From Scotland comes this outfit. But their chugga-chugga approach to power pop doesn’t recall Teenage Fanclub nearly as much as it does the American strain of the substyle. Many of the songs have a naggingly familiar character, a kind of “I’m sure I’ve heard this tune before” quality, but within the context of power pop, perhaps that’s as much a feature as a bug. As appealing as their riffy tunes are, Aerial shines brightly when tackling the winsome balladry of tunes like “Hollywood Ghosts.” And they lean in a melancholy, chiming pop direction for “Run These Lights.” Varied and solid.

Colman Gota – Don’t Stop Playing Guitar
When we last checked in with Colman Gota, he was working with Mitch Easter and the dear departed Chris Garges. Now he’s working with producer John Pfiffner, house engineer at Mitch’s Fidelitorium. Gota’s latest features songs with a generally sunny disposition; his slightly nasally vocal delivery gives a homespun character to the songs, even when they’re high energy with slashing power chords. Seventeen songs is a lotta songs, but the quality standard here is pretty high; recommended track is “Two Chords and a Lie.” Gota does favor ba-ba-ba vocalisms, which I like but which may not be for all tastes.

Caddy – s/t
If I didn’t tell you (or if you didn’t know already), you’d likely never guess that Caddy is from Norway. They deliver the power pop with a roaring, hard ‘n’ heavy style, and they bring the melody. Fans of Cheap Trick and Material Issue are prime candidates to be won over by this outfit. They didn’t rock this forcefully back in 2018, as I recall. But Caddy’s sophisticated-meets-muscular approach here serves them and their songs quite well. They remind me a bit of Gladhands. If you know me, that’s high praise indeed. Caddy’s easily the best of this hundred-word-reviewed lot.

Vinyl Kings – Big New Life
This collective of seasoned players and writers sounds very much like what they are. In fact, if I played you the opening/title track, you’d think, “Hey, is this the long-missing Volume Two from the Traveling Wilburys?” Yeah, the similarity is almost too close, from Harrisonesque slide guitar, multiple lead vocals, lots of shimmering acoustic guitars, and… you get the idea. Elsewhere they sound a bit like Cloud Nine era George Harrison. On “Smoke Rings for Renee” they move in a baroque, string-heavy direction that suggests Harry Nilsson. Does it all hold together cohesively? That’s for you to decide, my friend.

NOTE: All of these titles (and more, o’course) are available from Kool Kat Musik.